Captain Hindsight Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 I work for a subcontractor and we are currently in year two of a three year contract for our client. In April of this year, we were told our contract was extended 6 months to align with the program year (previously was set to expire mid year next year) I was just informed that the company I work for signed the contract extension, however our client did not and has indicated they don't plan to anytime soon. (I'm hearing all this second hand so I'm not sure the exact wording that was used) The client also adjusted our goals and budget by ~40%. This more or less aligns with when our contract would be set to expire so it may just be a matter of having things line up with current contracts. I'd say we are in good standing with the client and have killed our goals every year we've had the contract, but admittedly this news was...concerning to not only me and my colleagues but also my boss. Just a lot of unknowns now and personally I think it would be difficult to have a transition mid year and would be surprising if we were out then,but its not out of the question I joined the company while they were in the bid for our now current contract and the vibe was different then. I got the impression our portion of the portfolio was secure and it was just a matter of lining up the rest of the contracts. Since then, leadership has completely changed at the client level so it is tough to know what they are thinking now. Should I be concerned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochesterRob Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 21 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said: I work for a subcontractor and we are currently in year two of a three year contract for our client. In April of this year, we were told our contract was extended 6 months to align with the program year (previously was set to expire mid year next year) I was just informed that the company I work for signed the contract extension, however our client did not and has indicated they don't plan to anytime soon. (I'm hearing all this second hand so I'm not sure the exact wording that was used) The client also adjusted our goals and budget by ~40%. This more or less aligns with when our contract would be set to expire so it may just be a matter of having things line up with current contracts. I'd say we are in good standing with the client and have killed our goals every year we've had the contract, but admittedly this news was...concerning to not only me and my colleagues but also my boss. Just a lot of unknowns now and personally I think it would be difficult to have a transition mid year and would be surprising if we were out then,but its not out of the question I joined the company while they were in the bid for our now current contract and the vibe was different then. I got the impression our portion of the portfolio was secure and it was just a matter of lining up the rest of the contracts. Since then, leadership has completely changed at the client level so it is tough to know what they are thinking now. Should I be concerned? You work for the subcontractor so you and your boss are most likely far removed from the decision making process. I hate to say it but unless you contract has something other than standard language about "outs" for your employer it is wise to be concerned. Does your current assignment help build your reputation in the industry and is it an industry that you enjoy working in? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 it's the risks of the subcontracting game have had a few dump us after 3 years out of 5, mostly government contracts so it wasn't unexpected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 Just now, RochesterRob said: You work for the subcontractor so you and your boss are most likely far removed from the decision making process. I hate to say it but unless you contract has something other than standard language about "outs" for your employer it is wise to be concerned. Does your current assignment help build your reputation in the industry and is it an industry that you enjoy working in? To the bolded, yes and yes. I like what i do and think I could get hired within the industry somewhat quickly. I like this "side" of it better having worked in a similar role for a different company . Basically I used to submit proposals and now I review them for accuracy and give out money to do said proposals. I'd much rather be on this side of it, but have a number of good contacts for the other side of this that like me. I think I'd be ok, but not as happy on that end of this business. Sorry for being vague haha. Trying to leave names out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 (edited) There’s just far too many variables for any of us to give you meaningful feedback but the short of it is you are never terribly secure past your contract and there’s not a lot of incentive to extend that contract early unless they are getting something to give those guarantees. Plan for the worst. Do great work. Make it easy for the best to happen. Edited October 8, 2019 by NoSaint 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 2 hours ago, NoSaint said: There’s just far too many variables for any of us to give you meaningful feedback but the short of it is you are never terribly secure past your contract and there’s not a lot of incentive to extend that contract early unless they are getting something to give those guarantees. Plan for the worst. Do great work. Make it easy for the best to happen. This. You plan as well as you can, but try not to worry about things over which you have no control. It’s wasted emotion and just causes unneeded angst. It will all unfold in time, you will manage it, and life will go on....often better than the previous situation. The fear of the unknown is powerful, but the more you learn to just not play the game, the better life gets. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 10 hours ago, Augie said: This. You plan as well as you can, but try not to worry about things over which you have no control. It’s wasted emotion and just causes unneeded angst. It will all unfold in time, you will manage it, and life will go on....often better than the previous situation. The fear of the unknown is powerful, but the more you learn to just not play the game, the better life gets. My whole reason for being is to worry about things I can’t control. I tell my kids that I will never die, I will just dissolve into a cloud of worry and float around the universe forever. That’s probably why I stayed with a corporate job for forty years and never tried to do something more creative or lucrative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 16 hours ago, Captain Hindsight said: I work for a subcontractor and we are currently in year two of a three year contract for our client. In April of this year, we were told our contract was extended 6 months to align with the program year (previously was set to expire mid year next year) I was just informed that the company I work for signed the contract extension, however our client did not and has indicated they don't plan to anytime soon. (I'm hearing all this second hand so I'm not sure the exact wording that was used) The client also adjusted our goals and budget by ~40%. This more or less aligns with when our contract would be set to expire so it may just be a matter of having things line up with current contracts. I'd say we are in good standing with the client and have killed our goals every year we've had the contract, but admittedly this news was...concerning to not only me and my colleagues but also my boss. Just a lot of unknowns now and personally I think it would be difficult to have a transition mid year and would be surprising if we were out then,but its not out of the question I joined the company while they were in the bid for our now current contract and the vibe was different then. I got the impression our portion of the portfolio was secure and it was just a matter of lining up the rest of the contracts. Since then, leadership has completely changed at the client level so it is tough to know what they are thinking now. Should I be concerned? Do you do government contract work? private contact work? The company you work for must be going after other work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve O Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Cliche's got to be cliche's for a reason, most of them are true. "Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 The company that I worked for was often a subcontractor to another customer. Our work was highly regarded. Occasionally our customer would get an extension from their customer, and it would take a few months for the extension to trickle down to us. Our customer thought of themselves as tough negotiators, and they would make us sweat it out to see if they could get concessions from us. After many, many years of this, the ultimate customer realized that our customer was jerking us around and siphoning off profit for themselves, and the ultimate customer ended up coming directly to us for future contracts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 17 hours ago, Captain Hindsight said: I work for a subcontractor and we are currently in year two of a three year contract for our client. In April of this year, we were told our contract was extended 6 months to align with the program year (previously was set to expire mid year next year) I was just informed that the company I work for signed the contract extension, however our client did not and has indicated they don't plan to anytime soon. (I'm hearing all this second hand so I'm not sure the exact wording that was used) The client also adjusted our goals and budget by ~40%. This more or less aligns with when our contract would be set to expire so it may just be a matter of having things line up with current contracts. I'd say we are in good standing with the client and have killed our goals every year we've had the contract, but admittedly this news was...concerning to not only me and my colleagues but also my boss. Just a lot of unknowns now and personally I think it would be difficult to have a transition mid year and would be surprising if we were out then,but its not out of the question I joined the company while they were in the bid for our now current contract and the vibe was different then. I got the impression our portion of the portfolio was secure and it was just a matter of lining up the rest of the contracts. Since then, leadership has completely changed at the client level so it is tough to know what they are thinking now. Should I be concerned? When you are working on a contract basis you are working in an environment of instability. There will be times when you think you are in a long period of stability when in reality you are not. Then there will be times when you think that you are in a precarious situation when it turns out that you are in a long term stable situation. That's the nature of the business. In some respects you are like a pro athlete on a team's roster. You may think that you are in a secure situation when in reality the organization might be seeking a different or cheaper option. The only advice I can give you is to be proactive in expanding you network so when the inevitable happens (and it will) you will be in a good situation to have a fall back position. And what I would also suggest is for you to be judicious in handling your finances and make a concerted effort to boost your savings so you won't quickly fall off the financial cliff when there is a stoppage of checks. As the wise Augie and others have stated you can't live a life of constant worrying about what could happen. That type of thinking will deplete you and make you miserable. Life is full of unexpected perils even for those who are in a more secure employment situation. Worrying isn't a solution to anything but planning for the future while you are in this situation is the smart thing to do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 1 hour ago, Steve O said: Cliche's got to be cliche's for a reason, most of them are true. "Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace." it's nice to have those swaths of time without needless worries, don't worry though, the worries will return Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted October 9, 2019 Author Share Posted October 9, 2019 (edited) On 10/8/2019 at 8:46 AM, mead107 said: Do you do government contract work? private contact work? The company you work for must be going after other work. I work for a rebate program for a utility company. My company is going after other work but not in this state. I just bought a house and put a ton of work into, I'm not moving I have a few contacts I've reached out to just let them know I may be available soon and would like to keep in touch. I'm confident I can get a job, just a shock Monday since we all thought it was not an issue yet Thanks for the wise words everyone. It helps to know I'm not the first to go through this Edited October 9, 2019 by Captain Hindsight 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGOATski Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On 10/7/2019 at 12:57 PM, Captain Hindsight said: I work for a subcontractor and we are currently in year two of a three year contract for our client. In April of this year, we were told our contract was extended 6 months to align with the program year (previously was set to expire mid year next year) I was just informed that the company I work for signed the contract extension, however our client did not and has indicated they don't plan to anytime soon. (I'm hearing all this second hand so I'm not sure the exact wording that was used) The client also adjusted our goals and budget by ~40%. This more or less aligns with when our contract would be set to expire so it may just be a matter of having things line up with current contracts. I'd say we are in good standing with the client and have killed our goals every year we've had the contract, but admittedly this news was...concerning to not only me and my colleagues but also my boss. Just a lot of unknowns now and personally I think it would be difficult to have a transition mid year and would be surprising if we were out then,but its not out of the question I joined the company while they were in the bid for our now current contract and the vibe was different then. I got the impression our portion of the portfolio was secure and it was just a matter of lining up the rest of the contracts. Since then, leadership has completely changed at the client level so it is tough to know what they are thinking now. Should I be concerned? Given the bolded, this seems normal. When that happens, it often screws up the plan that the project manager originally laid out, doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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